Strings Attached

~Chapter 11~

Finally, the last and noisiest douchebag of the Big Bang Boys deems it suitable to grace us with his presence and drags a chair from the back to sit as haphazardly as he can. I observe Poulomi shrinking into her chair from behind, and the sight seems extraordinary. I haven't seen her avoiding anyone from all that I've come to know of her, except maybe Chuck.

"What was that about?" I ask him condescendingly about the fight. "He made a dent on my car, the ba*tard!" Chuck replies venomously. "I extracted the payment from him, though." Told ya, he could deal with it alone. "Good for you." "Yeah. But it's looking nasty. Dad's gonna be angry. He wants to sell the car to some 'hot' client of his." He scrunches his nose in disgust. "Guess I'll have to make myself home in the old Merc in the garage."

It's common knowledge that girls like cars. And the curvier, the better. Chuck's loaded. He's got a Jaguar X class model. And girls swoon over it. He's pretty adamant to not give it back to his dad, but the man's scary. He's wild when he gets angry, and there's no escaping his wrath. He's a six foot six inches giant and particularly possessive when it comes to his cars. He let Chuck have the Jaguar after cashing his six months' pocket money from him. What a dad!

The wild streak runs in the family. Probably, the result of their cowboy blood. Chuck's originally American, from somewhere around Arizona. His forefathers were a part of a gang. Near the end of the 18th century, a feud broke out in the gang. And his ancestor struck a man with a particularly hard weapon. Obviously, the man died.

They were on the run ever since. Eventually, when the laws came too close for them to bear, they took the route to England. Why England, I've never been able to understand. Anyway, the laws followed them here too. And they remained in hiding for almost a century. It's an exciting story. Sometimes, I feel we should get this into a play. Just a thought.

Finally, when the McMaddox clan came out of hiding, it struck gold. The last place they were hiding at was an abandoned vault of a bank. Centuries ago, there'd been a flood, and all the money had gone under water, literally. There wasn't just money, there were valuable jewels too. And the clan had known only two things best. Fighting and breeding horses. They used the money to make business of the latter hobby. And so, the McMaddox became the breeders of best horses in all of England. Their stock is unparalleled even now. Almost everyone has forgotten about the murder.

Jack McMaddox married an English woman who took his fancy for a short little while. Chuck was the result. But not able to stand his brutish ways, she died young. She was a lot younger than him. Probably twenty against his thirty-five years. All the more reason for me to not believe in marrying a child! For she was a child in his comparison.

I sometimes call Chuck's dad a 'Mad Ox'. He resembles their species a lot. They're all mad oxen at some point or other in their lives. Even Chuck. And I think he's gonna present us a classic example of his name when he comes to know that I didn't tell him about Poulomi being a few feet away from him.

But the incident is never gonna occur now. Coz Stupid Little Poulomi takes it in her head to turn sideways and come in the Mad Ox's direct line of sight, right when he finishes his tale and his eyes immediately recognize her. The boy literally jumps upon her. Guess it had to be this way. I can't help her anymore, though. When the boy takes something in his head, he doesn't back down. And I have more important things to do. Like asking Hidayah Ali for her number.